Strictly Come Dancing fans have demanded bosses to bring back a recently eliminated couple to replace Nigel Harman.
The actor, 50, and his dance partner Katya Jones had to leave the competition on Saturday (December 2). The surprise exit came just hours before the quarter-final.
Nigel was forced to quit the show due to him suffering an injury, which meant he and Katya couldn’t participate in the live show. The pair were set to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Disney’s Mary Poppins for the musicals edition of the show.
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The news of Nigel’s exit left fans of the glitzy programme gutted. While many have called on the show to replace Nigel with a booted couple from this year’s line up.
(Image: BBC/Kieron McCarron)
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one person said: “Gutted to see Nigel go but Angela Scanlon should return to fill his space. She went too soon.”
Someone else added: “My solution is bring back Angela and Carlos.” A third quipped: “Can Angela Scanlon learn a dance in 3 and a half hours please? come back queen.”
Despite his exit, during the video montage on Saturday night’s show (December 2) Nigel and Katya made several appearances, and fans were sad to still see them pop up on screens. On X, one person said: Nooooooo….just feels wrong the titles still include Nigel & Katya.”
Another chimed in and penned: “Seeing nigel & katya look so happy in that opening vt is breaking my heart.” Someone else wrote: “So they didn’t even have time to remove Nigel from this pre-title waffle?”
An official BBC spokesperson confirmed the news of Nigel and Katya’s departure, stating: “Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
The official Strictly Come Dancing Instagram page also shared the news with a statement alongside a photo of the pair. The statement read: “Unfortunately, Nigel Harman and Katya Jones have had to withdraw from the competition. We wish Nigel a speedy recovery and they both will be very much missed by our entire Strictly family.”
Many Strictly professionals expressed their sadness at the news. Gorka Marquez, who was eliminated second this year after being partnered with presenter Nikita Kanda, reacted by sharing crying emojis. Nadiya Bychkova, who has been in the show group performances and backing dancing, shared sad-faced emojis and a praying hands emoji.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
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Over on X, formerly known as Twitter, Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy was among those sharing shock at the news. The star, who was a 2023 contestant and was eliminated in week eight, wrote: “Terrible news. Poor Nigel and Katya – and in musicals week as well which he was so excited about. So sad for a lovely man and amazing dancer.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
